People want to drink clean water even more than they want to breath clean air. Fortunately, clean water is getting easier to come by for billions of people who used to have a hard time getting it.
While one in 10 people around the world lack access to clean drinking water, this is the lowest number since about 1990. But a new national survey shows that most Americans think it is a lot worse.
The survey found that Americans don’t know the progress we’ve made addressing the global water crisis. Nearly 70% of respondents believe that the clean water crisis has stayed the same or gotten worse, with one-in-four saying that the problem has become much worse.
In reality, international efforts to solve the clean water crisis are working. Over the last 25 years, 2.6 billion people have gained access to clean water. But there are still almost 850 million people without clean water. One-in-four Americans also underestimate the number of people who die each year because of waterborne illnesses.
The survey was conducted with 1,000 Americans over the age of 18 during the first three days of February 2018 (see figure).
Procter & Gamble’s nonprofit Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program partnered with National Geographic to raise awareness about the global water crisis. This national survey, and the release of a new documentary, is in conjunction with tomorrow’s United Nations World Water Day, Thursday March 22.
P&G commissioned this new survey to be released alongside the documentary. Titled The Power of Clean Water, the film follows the lives of three women around the world, capturing the transformational impact that access to clean water has on the women and their families. Definitely watch this.
‘At National Geographic, we believe that great storytelling can spark curiosity, help solve big problems, and push the boundaries of what we already know,’ said Jill Cress, chief marketing officer of National Geographic Partners. ‘This documentary reflects the very real and powerful stories of people whose lives have been impacted by [humanitarian] programs that provide access to clean drinking water, and we are proud to join P&G to continue to drive awareness around this pressing issue and reach others in need.’
P&G has had a direct hand in some of this success, having developed and distributed their Purifier of Water technology to millions of people who need it most, cleaning over 5 billion gallons of clean drinking water right where it was needed.
Described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this technology is just a small packet of powder, little more than the size of a single sugar packet, that effectively kills bacteria and viruses, and removes parasites, arsenic, dirt and other solid materials.
With only a bucket, a spoon, a bit of cloth and a P&G packet, anyone can purify 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of filthy water in 30 minutes (see figure above). It uses a coagulant (iron sulfate) to remove contaminants from water by causing particulates to clump together, or flocculate, where they can be filtered through simple cloth. A disinfectant (calcium hypochlorite) kills bacteria and viruses.
The process is easy (see film short). The powder is stirred into the water for 5 minutes. This creates a visible flocculent or floc (sediment) that contains the contaminants in the water. The water sits for another 5 minutes, while the floc (sediment) settles. The floc is separated from the clean water by pouring through a clean cloth into another bucket.
After the clean water stands for 20 minutes to allow the disinfectant to kill any bacteria or viruses, it is ready to drink. The separated floc is disposed in a toilet, latrine or bushes away from children and animals.
The P&G Purifier of Water removes 99.99999% of bacteria, 99.99% of viruses, and 99.9% of cysts (parasites like cryptosporidium and giardia).
‘Without clean drinking water, it’s much harder to keep their children healthy, have them get an education and provide a better life for their families,’ said P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard.
P&G provides the packets to global relief groups and to distributor partners at about three-and-a-half cents per packet which only covers the cost of materials. P&G’s partners are then able to provide the packets to people who need them for about 10 cents each which includes the cost of the product, shipping, rural distribution and training.
In emergencies, P&G’s humanitarian and emergency relief partners distribute the packets for free to those affected by the disaster.
‘Since the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program was launched in 2004, P&G has worked with partners worldwide to deliver more than 13 billion liters of clean water to people who need it most,’ said Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program Leader Allison Tummon Kamphuis. ‘We’ve made significant progress, but these survey results show we have work to do in helping more people understand the impact of the global water crisis.’
